A Step in a New Direction
by Farmer Blob
Summary: Sakura leaves the training grounds; officially tired of the way Sasuke treats her. As she sits alone, she debates on where to go from there. However, it doesn't take her long to come to a conclusion, and with a little help... *OneShot*/*1st NarFic*


**A Step in a New Direction**

  


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Um, hi! The name's Blob and this be my first Naruto fanfiction. Whoo...! ^_^  
  
Also, I'm not sure, but to some, there MIGHT be extremely light Sasuke bashing. I don't mean to, but in order to get the point across, other points must be made. :D I love Sasuke, but I'm sure most of ya guys will agree the kid has one meatloaf of a temper. Tehe.  
  
Umm.. Another thing to add (yes, I'm never going to shut up), I only saw episodes 1-37, and this takes place.. uh.. sometime after episode 32. Eh, sorry, but I'm too *woe* poor to buy the mangas..  
  
OK! So, yeah, flames, reviews, whatever. I'll take what I can get, I suppose. Harsh, non-harsh, grammar corrections.. Ya know the drill. ^.^   
  
Ok, so it's over, this author's note is over.. YAY!! Farewell and enjoy! ...I guess. lol.  
  
  
~Farmer Blob~  
  
  
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**A Step in a New Direction**  
pg-13 | romance,?angst?,general | Naruto | Sakura x Lee  


Sakura kicked the innocent tree, however, the fact that it didn't make a sound only made her grow even more angry. Leaving the training grounds without her teachers' permission didn't occur to her as of yet; her mind was set on one thing and one thing only.   
  
Sasuke. 

Was there nothing that she could do right? Heaven forbid she even breath in his presence. Yet, she always kept that empty space in her heart unfilled; patiently waiting for the literally impossible. Now it seemed as though the sparred space had recently turned into a hole. A hole in the shape of anything willing to fill it up.   
  
She was tired of being toyed with. Emotions are attached to strings, and since when did Sasuke have the right to start pulling and twisting them; leaving them in a tangled heap? Whether he realized it or not, Sakura was hurting. And she was hurting bad.  
  
She did everything she could to make him think something, anything of her. She supported him, cheered him, prayed for him, and dropped hints to the point of exhaustion. She didn't even care about her physical appearance as long as he was pleased. And what hurts the most is that even though she sacrificed her hair, which was one of the only hooks she had control over, he treated her yet the same. This shows that not only does he not care about her loss, but that he probably never even acknowledged the reason it was long in the first place.  
  
Birds chippered; mixing with the crisp blue sky. The sounds of the wind and the leaves played softer than any music as Sakura opened her eyes to a large, shady tree. Almost collapsing to the ground, Sakura rested her aching back against the rough trunk.   
  
Aching because of training. With no more looks to flaw, her next task was to get stronger. Stronger like Naruto; stronger like Sasuke. However, after Sasuke insulted her to what she swears to be the last time, she finally started to have her doubts about ever being enough for him. That's it, isn't it? She wasn't enough.   
  
Sakura fought back the tears. He had fucked with her body and mind for too long, whether he knew it or not. She was tired of giving him total control as though she were a doll in need of dressing and a voice. Starting now, she was her own voice.   
  
But why were the tears still pushing? Was the emotional strain that difficult to deal with? Oh well. It didn't matter now, because she was going to erase all of her feelings for him. For now on, he was a well-respected teammate. He's not even worth being considered a friend.

So many possibilities, so little patience was left in Sakura's mind.   
  
What had she seen in him? The boy had no life in him. He never spoke unless it was necessary or whenever he found a reason to be sarcastic or put somebody down. He never smiled out of good humor, so forget laughing. Never did he enjoy doing things for fun. Hell, he was boring. Just very handsome, very mysterious, and had a swift attitude. Now that she thought of it, not even Ino deserved to be burdened with such a guy.   
  
Sakura took a deep breath and forced a smile up at the sky. Yes. No more paining over Sasuke. He wasn't worth it. For now on, she'll treat him the way he treated her.   
  
Sakura chuckled slightly about the irony of the moment. Who would've thought that it only would've taken one, typical ruthless remark to set her off the deep end? However, she felt relaxed and ready for whatever was to come.   
  
Smiling, Sakura stood up and cheerfully brushed dirt and grass blades off of the back of her clothes. No way was any of this going to interfere with her training! It was time to prove to herself that she was stronger than that. As she began to walk away from the cool, shady resting spot, a shuffle of feet approached from behind. Quickly, trying not to let her ninja instincts leave her, she swiftly turned around. 

Her muscles released their tension and she raised a hand to her chest, "You scared me."  
  
"Oh, ah, sorry," Lee scratched the back of his head. His other arm was bent protectively behind his back. Sakura, for a reason unknown, wasn't annoyed at the event of seeing him. She felt somewhat pleased.   
  
"I.." Lee shoved a handful of newly picked flowers in front of him, "I.. saw these.. And thought of you!" he blushed crimson.  
  
Sakura took a step back. The boy was giving her flowers? And she didn't want to hit him upside the head?   
  
She smiled brightly and took them, "Thanks."  
  
Lee grinned as Sakura studied the brightly colored bunch.   
  
_Sasuke would of never.._ Sakura thought somewhat sadly.  
  
Sakura felt as though she didn't need to prove herself anymore by training. Instead, she felt as though she needed a break. Lee watched as Sakura walked passed him.   
  
"Want.. some ramen... or something..?" she stuttered.   
  
"W-what..? Really? Yes!" Lee's eyes literally watered.  
  
_Let's see what it takes to fill in this hole of mine. _ Sakura thought to herself as she waited for Lee to catch up, _ Who knows? Who knows who I'll get closer to..._  
  
As they began to walk away, together, she allowed but one last thought to echo through her mind before refusing to think about anything but enjoying herself:  
  
_One day, Sasuke's going to look back and think about what he lost. I mean, I'm not _ that_ bad, am I?_  


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THAT'S IT! IT'S OVER! *cheers are heard* Aww.. Meanies! ^_^  
  
Ok... well... I guess you guys can go about your happy lives now. Forget about poor old me and the sweat I ..sweated over this puny fic. I see how it is. ..lol  
  
So once again, the blob is signing off: Tah-tah!  
  
Luvs!   
~Farmer Blob~   
_~shadowzeke@comcast.net~_ 


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